RWBY: Shattered
by Wamborg
Summary: How far can you push someone before they teeter over the brink? How far can one venture before he succumbs to the madness of his own mind? For Team ZACA, they're about to find the answer to this question, whether they like it, or not.
1. Chapter 1

**RWBY: Shattered**

Chapter 1:

Today, was NOT a good day for Arthur Lance. Get sick on the flight to Beacon? He could handle. Tossed into a forest full of murderous beasts ready to tear his throat out? He's trained his entire life to combat said beasts, but somehow end up being surrounded by several dozens of Grimm? That's a bit much...

Arthur thought as he once again rolled to the side, dodging the Ursa that barrelled past him, intending to rip his head from his shoulders.

"This is starting to get really old, really fast" Arthur thought as he went through the motions of blocking the strikes of the surrounding Grimm using his shield and at the same time striking back at any Grimm stupid enough to lower its guard with his sword. Any attacks that did make it past Arthur's guard was also fortunately deflected by the plate armor worn by him. However, Arthur knew that he couldn't keep this up forever, and the Grimm knew it as they continuously struck at him, leaving him no time to rest.

"Damn! Will you bastards just die already!" Arthur shouted in frustration, the fatigue from constant battle starting to catch up to him. "Shit, if I don't get away now, I'm really gonna die" Arthur thought as he desperately tried break away from the onslaught of Grimm, only to be cut off by an Ursa slamming him into a tree, the tree cracking under the massive force exerted by the Ursa.

As Arthur lay at the base of the now destroyed tree, stunned, he could only watch helplessly as the Ursa got on its hindlegs, preparing to deliver the final blow. "Sorry I couldn't avenge you" Arthur thought, as he closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, a flood of regret filling his mind. But while Arthur waited for the blow that would end his life, the blow never came. Instead, everything around him became engulfed in fire as the boom of explosions resounded all around him. The Grimm, didn't even stand a chance as they were ripped apart from the force of the explosions, their dismembered appendages flying through the air. Wisely, the Grimm bid a hasty retreat, disappearing back into the now burning forest and leaving a completely dumbfounded Arthur.

After several minutes of shock and disbelief, and after the ringing in his ears went away, Arthur got up raggedly, using his sword as a makeshift cane, and quickly hobbled off away from the blast site, eager to use the moment to make his way to the temple described by Professor Ozpin and hopefully, find a partner.

With that goal in mind, Arthur left hurriedly, oblivious to the fact that throughout his entire engagement with the Grimm, he was watched.

"Well... that was fun! Now... how do I go about replacing all the fire dust I just wasted... oh well I guess I just gotta steal some more from the military" a masked figure pondered amusedly to himself, following Arthur's trail, all the while humming a cheerful tune to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**RWBY: Shattered**

Chapter 2:

"Wow... that explosion must have chased every single Grimm away" Arthur thought, as he trudged through the forest as stealthily as possible though it was in vain as not a single Grimm could be seen or heard. "That, or it just so happened that all the Grimm in the forest were caught in the explosion" Arthur thought morbidly as he was once again reminded how close he had come to certain death by the horde of Grimm.

However, as Arthur continued towards the temple, he noticed rather... peculiar things. For one thing, it seemed as if he was being followed. A fleeting shadow here, a snapped twig there, while it is safe for one as tired as Arthur to think it was merely his imagination, one can never be too cautious, especially when in a forest full of Grimm. It was with that cheerful thought in mind that motivated Arthur to move faster, fuelling his desperation to find the temple as soon as possible. Though he couldn't help but wonder, why hasn't he been attacked yet?

After several moments of limping, paranoia and swearing, Arthur finally made it to the temple, only to encounter something that made him want to just sink back into the cover of the forest and take a nice, long nap.

"Well, this is just great isn't it" Arthur thought, as he gazed upon the aftermath of a battle. Nevermore feathers the size of men stuck in the ground, the tracks of a huge Deathstalker and the decaying body of a dead Ursa did not do anything to boost Arthur's confidence in getting out of the forest alive and in one piece. His wounds more or less healed from his aura, Arthur readied himself for combat as he approached the temple pedestals, wary of any approaching adversary.

"Wait, these are chess pieces! Not relics!" Arthur thought, stunned by the absurdity of the situation. "Hmmm, there's only 2 left, and they're both the Black Queen. I must be one of the last few to reach here" Arthur realized. It also didn't escape from him the fact that he was still without a partner. "Well, best thing to do now is wait". And so, Arthur waited.

He didn't have to wait for long though, as he was soon met with the sight of a beautiful girl, seemingly untouched by the violence of the Grimm. Her long flowing brown hair and curvaceous body entranced Arthur. The sight of her brown eyes also petrified Arthur as if she was Medusa herself, and the best thing, she looked as if she was without a partner. Arthur, not one to waste a golden opportunity like this, quickly got up and introduced himself...

"Hey there! Well it looks like we're partners now! Name's Arthur La-"

Only for him to be cut off by a boulder landing in front of him.

"Argus! Stop! He's friendly!"

"Oh... let me throw another one just to make sure"

"No stop! Just... go sit near the relics and be good"

"Okay Constance!"

Meanwhile, Arthur, flat on his ass due to the sudden boulder, was busy recovering from the sudden heart attack he was experiencing. He could only watch as a mountain of a man skipped past him and sat next to the relics, followed by the girl from before strutting past him, looking at him with frustration.

"Do you intend to lie there all day? Or are you gonna get?" The girl asked, visibly annoyed by the situation.

"Cold..." Arthur thought, as he got to his feet.

A closer look at the girl revealed that she was carrying a longsword and wore a simple outfit with a quiver of arrows attached to her back. "That sword of her's must be able to turn into a bow or something" Arthur deduced as he then turned his gaze to the boulder thrower. Said boulder thrower was an unexpected sight to say the least. Broad shouldered, muscular and tall in stature, he was an intimidating sight to say the least. His simple leather armour and warhammer even reminded Arthur of the barbarians of the past.

"Hey! You gonna introduce yourself or what?" The girl said.

"Huh? Oh, right. I'm Arthur Lance. And you are?"

"Constance Blackwood. The oaf over there is Argus Daren."

"Hello!" Argus happily waved, oblivious to the fact that he had almost killed his new acquaintance. Arthur could only awkwardly wave back. "Wait a minute, have you guys passed by anyone else yet? Anyone else without a partner?" Arthur questioned, as it dawned on him that he still did not have a partner and it was starting to look like it was going to remain that way.

"Anyone else? No can't say we have" Constance replied.

Upon hearing this, Arthur started to despair, his hopes and dreams crushed by the fact that he could not pass the test without a partner.

Arthur didn't have time to wallow in self pity however, as his thought was soon interrupted by the howling of a beowolf, followed by many other beowolves howling along.

"Damn, Argus grab the chess piece and get ready to move" Constance ordered as she transformed her sword into a crossbow and aimed in the direction of the howling. Arthur followed suit as well as he readied himself.

The howling stopped.

One minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Three minutes passed.

And then they emerged.

An army of beowolves emerged from the forest, their growls filling the entire area. The beowolves surrounded the temple, slowly advancing towards the small group, ready to pounce. But the most terrifying sight was the sight of the Alpha, covered in white bone, its spine was lined with spikes and it claws were enhanced by sharpened bone. The only part that was not covered was its eyes, its menacing red eyes glaring at what it believed to be its next meal.

As the beowolves continued to encircle the group, suddenly, they stopped and gazed at something. Arthur, Constance and Argus, puzzled by the sudden turn of events, turned to look at what caused the Grimm to stop, only to be met with an unexpected guest. A masked figure, dressed in a black and red trench coat with several pouches, stood on the branch of a tree, with a megaphone.

"Attention all passengers. This is your captain speaking. If you wish to survive within the next 5 seconds. Please duck now."

Arthur and Argus still puzzled, were suddenly pushed to the ground by Constance who told them to do as the man said.

5 seconds passed, and then all hell broke loose.


	3. Chapter 3

**RWBY: Shattered**

Chapter 3:

"Professor, with the exception of the four applicants remaining in the forest, all successful and failed applicants have been successfully retrieved and are now resting in the amphitheater."

"Thank you Glynda, now tell me about the current situation of the remaining four applicants."

"As of right now, they've somehow managed to become surrounded by a large pack of beowolves, most likely a consequence of mister Thorne's earlier shenanigans. I suggest we send a retrieval team immediately and rescue the remaining applicants, including mister Thorne".

"Hmmm, that won't be necessary."

"Sir?"

"I want to see the full capabilities of these applicants in battle before retrieving them. Especially mister Thorne's abilities. While certainly not the most powerful, mister Thorne does bring interesting skills to the table"

"Professor, must I remind you that mister Thorne's psychiatric evaluation is less than satisfactory to say the least and that his antics have already resulted in the de-"."Do not worry Glynda" Ozpin interjected. "I trust that mister Thorne will be able to lead this group out the forest safely. After all, we did recruit him for his... creativity so to speak."

*sigh* "Well, let's just hope that his creativity doesn't get them all killed. After all, one dead applicant, is better than 5 dead applicants."

Ozpin could only nod in reply, taking a sip out of his ever present coffee mug, contemplating on the awkward situation he was presented with. He could only hope that his trust in Zorion was not misplaced...

BOOM! The resounding roar of an explosion echoed throughout the entire forest as it was immediately engulfed in a sea of flames. For Arthur and his companions, they were lucky enough to suffer only ringing ears. For the beowolves, they weren't so lucky as the intense explosion disintegrated any beowolf unlucky enough to be caught within its vicinity. The Alpha too wasn't spared as it was flung across the clearing like a ragdoll straight through the temple columns.

"Damn it! He just had to survive now didn't he!?" Constance cursed, as the mysterious newcomer jumped out the tree, unloading his revolver into any nearby surviving beowolves.

"Well salutations my good sirs and sirette! Zorion Thorne, at your service" Zorion greeted, gazing at the stunned faces of Arthur and Argus and the fuming face of Constance.

"While I do hate to interrupt your, ahem, snuggling time, I must urge to get the hell up and-" BANG, as the head of another beowolf exploded, " and kill these dogs."

Constance, the only one not completely stunned by the dramatic appearance of Zorion, quickly got to her feet and started shooting down the recovering beowolves, all the while sending glares and curse at Zorion. Argus was the second one to get to work, as he charged the beowolves with previously unseen bloodthirstiness, every swing of his warhammer crushing the bones and bodies of the Grimm.

Arthur was, unsurprisingly, the last one to recover due to the injuries he had sustained in his previous battle.

"Alright then my loyal subjects! Close range! Form a perimeter around me and Consty. Mutilate any dog stupid enough to come close. Consty! You and I are on sniping duty"

Arthur could only nod in affirmation, too concentrated in defending himself to speak while Argus happily bounded over, crushing any beowolf that came near the group. Constance, despite having some obvious reservations about taking orders from Zorion, grudgingly listened to him and fell in beside him.

And so, it continued this way for a while, Argus and Arthur preventing any beowolf from coming too close with Zorion and Constance providing long range support, thinning the mass of beowolves. While this was no doubt effective, it wouldn't work for long as the Alpha, was beginning to recover from the blast.

"Oh? Looks like the big mutt's getting up" Zorion remarked amusedly.

"Constyyyy, use that peeping tom ability of your's and look for an opening"

Constance, growling at the mockery of her name and semblance, grudgingly obliged as she concentrated scanning the area for the least concentration of beowolves.

"Over there, near the nevermore feathers"

"Perfect! Now, Arthur, hold still for a moment would you..." Zorion said before planting a small device on Arthur's back.

"Huh? Wait what the heck is this?!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Oh this? It's to make you run faster" Zorion said before kicking Arthur away from the group and activating the device, releasing a pungent gas into the air.

"Oh damn what the hell is this?!"

"That my good friend, is Grimm pheromone, and just a word of advice, you might want to start running, preferably away from us" Zorion replied, barely containing in his laughter.

Arthur, realizing the gravity of his situation, quickly started running as every Grimm nearby pounced after him, eager to either eat, or have intercourse with him. To Arthur, both were equally unappealing.

Zorion and the rest in the meantime, taking advantage of the distraction Arthur was providing, sprinted towards the opening Constance had indicated. "Ummm, mask guy, what about Arthur?" Argus asked, worried about losing a new friend.

"Oh him? Don't worry. The device will soon release a noxious gas powerful enough to knock out those mutts and their noses but leave us humies as right as rain, mostly. Though, I am a bit concerned by the angry dog that is chasing us right now." Zorion said as he turned his attention to the enraged Alpha chasing them, obviously ignorant of the pheromones emitted by Arthur.

"Well shit, ran out of explosives... give me a moment would you" Zorion asked as he fumbled through his pockets, searching for something.

"Ugh... Argus use your semblance on that Alpha"

"Okay Constance!" Argus replied as he turned around, swinging his warhammer at the Alpha and emitting a concussive force against the area of impact. The resulting force from Argus's swing and semblance was huge to say the least, as the beowolf was blown back straight through several trees, finally crashing against a boulder. However, the Alpha was not deterred by the hit, as it got up quickly after being momentarily stunned and resumed its chase.

"Shit! Argus hit him again!" Constance yelled, starting to panic. However, this time, when Argus swung at the Alpha, it caught his warhammer mid swing and flung Argus away. Constance could only barely block the Alpha's strike with her sword before she too was blown back. Zorion, was not so lucky, as was he struck directly on his chest and knocked to the ground, the Alpha standing tall above him preparing to deliver the final blow.

However, that blow would never come as the Alpha was immediately blasted away by a beam of white energy.

"Never. Do that. Again. Ever. Asshole." Arthur said, leaning against a tree from pure exhaustion. Zorion merely nodded in response, proceeding to search his pouch for something.

"Consty! Arthur made a crack in its armor! Fire dust arrow now! Argus! Follow her up with a strike in the same area!" Zorion commanded, still engulfed in searching his pockets. True enough, the Alpha's chest armor did have a large crack in the middle, which was made even larger by the attacks of Constance and Argus. Although, the Alpha wasn't completely stupid, as it started to block the arrows from Constance and leap away from Argus, careful not to get too close. It was only when Constance shot an ice dust arrow at its feet was Argus able to land a clean hit on it. The Alpha, its feet frozen to the ground, could only take the full force of Argus's attack, the impact making a resounding boom throughout the entire forest. Argus was knocked away by the Alpha however, as it destroyed the ice surrounding its legs.

The Alpha, enraged by the damages it had received, howled in anger, but was immediately cut off by the sound of a revolver. "Foouuunnd it. Now be a good dog and eat these APHE rounds would you" Zorion remarked, as he unloaded all 7 remaining shots into the beowolf, turning the beowolf's body into a fountain of blood as its armor finally gave way under the force of the rounds before it finally fell dead.

The group, exhausted by the battle, could only stare at the corpse of the beowolf, glad that it had finally ended.

"Hah... hahhaha...hahahahha...HAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAH" Zorion laughed, earning the puzzled stares of his companions.

"Oh MAN! This, this is going to be a blast!" Zorion exclaimed, as he removed his mask, revealing the face of a teenage boy with black hair, red eyes and a long scar running down his eye. "Hey Arthur! Guess we're gonna be BFFs aren't we?" Zorion stated as he looked at a puzzled Arthur. However, after a few moments, it finally dawned on him the truth in Zorion's words.

"This lunatic's gonna be my partner for four years" were Arthur's final thoughts before finally passing out.


End file.
